


i like it like that

by xuxikr



Series: One Month, One Fic: 2019 [12]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Boys Kissing, Drinking, Getting Together, Kind of spicy, M/M, Making Out, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Seven Minutes In Heaven Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-28 20:49:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21142988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xuxikr/pseuds/xuxikr
Summary: Contrary to popular belief, Renjun hates parties and hates facing his own self.Alternatively, the one where Renjun, Jeno, and Jaemin talk.





	i like it like that

**Author's Note:**

> This is the continuation of my MarkHyuck fic called ["i think i'm drunk on you"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17420852) which was promised way back in January... you don't have to read the first fic but you can read it if you want more ~context~ behind what really happened prior to all this. Anyway, this is long overdue and I hope you like reading it :)

Renjun hates parties.

Anyone that knows him may say that’s a lie, and they have evidence to prove it. Truth to be told, Renjun’s quite good at handling his alcohol but loses to all the drinking games anyway. He has a lot of friends and always knows someone at a party. His natural gregariousness has helped him to overcome the struggle of migrating to Korea for university reasons. He’s the life of the party, always the one initiating games and dance battles but with the current state of his social life, Renjun hates parties.

He has been cooping up in his apartment for a week, refusing to talk to anyone that isn’t involved in his study group and ghosting his group chat with his friends. Whenever he thinks of parties, all he remembers is Jeno punching the living daylights out of Yukhei as Jaemin plants a firm kiss to his lips.

He still doesn’t want to believe it happened, that two of his best friends admitted to liking him when they are both dating each other—the callousness of their actions costing his good dynamics with Yukhei. It still doesn’t feel real, and in fact, Renjun never wants to believe it’s real.

But for some reason, Donghyuck has the power of persuasion—he has persuaded Renjun to stop cooping up in his room and come with him to a party. Renjun knows that he should know better than this—yet he says yes, the bribery of free drinks and free food has him jumping out of his single bed in no time.

“Is this for real?” Renjun asks when Donghyuck drags him to a game circle in the middle of the dirty house floor. He feels revolted just at the thought of sitting down, and he definitely isn’t drunk enough for this, but Donghyuck has already tugged him down next to him.

“We’re playing Seven Minutes in Heaven? What are we, seventh graders?” 

“Stop complaining,” Donghyuck says, not paying much attention to him as he waves at Mark who sits at the opposite side of the circle.

Renjun does  _ not _ want to think about why Donghyuck and Mark are sitting in this circle when they’ve been dating since last week, when the  _ incident _ happened. Although he has an inkling of what they’re trying to do, Renjun does not want to think about it. 

“I want to get drunk.” Renjun declares. “Not make out with someone tonight, why am I even here?”

More people join the game circle, and Renjun shimmies to make space with new people. He’s too involved with arguing with Donghyuck that he doesn’t see the other two that has sat right across him.

“Oh,”

“What?”

When he looks, Renjun’s stomach clenches at the sight before him. It’s Jeno and Jaemin, next to each other in the game circle as they stare at Renjun with so much intensity that Renjun wonders why he isn’t bursting into flames yet.

Donghyuck looks at Renjun, eyes wide in shock but Renjun only stares back at them, unwavering.

The game begins before Renjun can even do anything.

“I swear, I didn’t know they’re coming here—I wouldn’t do that to you.” Donghyuck buzzes right next to his ear as the bottle spins in the middle of the circle. Renjun bats him away, not liking the worried look Mark’s throwing in between Jeno, Jaemin, and him.

“Shut up, just shut up right now, Donghyuck.” Renjun bites and Donghyuck behaves himself surprisingly. Jeno and Jaemin whisper at each other, Jeno cupping his hand over his mouth so Renjun can’t read what he’s trying to say. Still, Jaemin’s eyes never leave Renjun.

“Interesting!” Chanhee, the host of the party exclaims when the bottle stops and Renjun pries his eyes away from the duo to look at what’s interesting.

It’s the bottle.

Its mouth pointing right at Renjun.

The shock registers first, then the laughter comes as easily as the surprise did.  _ How funny things turn out _ . 

“Looks like I’m lucky today.” Renjun says, grabbing the bottle from the floor to take his turn at spinning, to decide his partner for tonight’s game. He pretends he doesn’t see the way Jeno and Jaemin tense once his fingers wrap around the glass, but a game is a game.

“Renjun,” Donghyuck whispers from beside him, “what are you doing?”

“Playing the game,” he responds. Jeno and Jaemin never tear their eyes away from him, and Renjun doesn’t miss the swallow of their throats.

When Renjun spins the bottle, it stops right on the spot in between Jeno and Jaemin, at the minuscule space separating them. 

“Wow!” Donghyuck exclaims, snatching the bottle away from the floor and close to his chest to appease the tension. Everyone has their eyes peeled at the scene, Jeno and Jaemin looking at Renjun then back at each other. 

Renjun looks at Donghyuck. “What are you doing?”

“Since the bottle landed in between them, let’s just spin it again!”

“No,” Renjun says resolutely, “I’ll take them both.”

Renjun isn’t drunk enough for this.

The closet is cramped and dark, smells like old socks and rotting boxes, but he pushes Jaemin back against the wall as Jeno wraps his arms around Renjun’s waist, his cold lips plastered to Renjun’s nape, Renjun’s mouth busy with Jaemin’s own.

He can’t even say his decision-making is clouded, he  _ wants _ this. And  _ this _ has happened quite a handful of times in the past, with Jaemin suggesting it the first time around and Jeno had been game to make out with Renjun—and Renjun would be a liar if he says he didn’t say yes to the thought of it immediately.

Maybe he had been crazy, maybe he still is, but Jeno and Jaemin are as irresistible as they are annoying. He doesn’t even know what to do after this game, but Renjun’s brain is shutting out all these worries, focusing instead on the tingling sensation he’s feeling everywhere, with Jeno’s and Jaemin’s hands all over him.

“Renjun,” Jaemin pulls away from his lips and Renjun busies himself instead with nipping at the skin on Jaemin’s neck, “we have to talk.”

Jeno kisses the line of his jaw, travels up to his ear and kisses at his earlobe. It makes Renjun shudder, his stomach fizzing with warm pleasure. Jeno always knows where to kiss him.

Renjun looks up at Jaemin through his lashes, a hand pressed to his chest as the other wraps around his neck. “Talk later, didn’t you want to kiss me?” 

Jaemin swallows hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing as Jeno speaks up from behind him, driving his hips closer against Renjun’s own due to the cramped space. “I didn’t get to kiss you.” 

Renjun laughs, the whine in Jeno’s voice isn’t even a bit subtle. Jeno’s always been clingier, although it’s Jaemin that attacks with the random bouts of touches, Jeno’s clinginess traverses  _ all _ forms of affection. 

He figures Jeno’s always like this with everyone. He whines when Donghyuck doesn’t reply to his texts, complains when Mark doesn’t join them for a group hangout, is unbearably annoying when he fights with Jaemin, and with Renjun, he stares when he’s across the room, texts him when they haven’t seen each other in a day—he’s always  _ asking _ for his attention. 

Jaemin is quite different, he isn’t afraid to touch and touch and  _ touch _ whenever they’re together but doesn’t ask for more when they’re apart. A hand on the thigh, his chin hooked to his shoulder, his chest pressed to his back—it’s as if Jaemin doesn’t want to be apart, but doesn’t complain when they are. 

“Aw,” Renjun coos as he turns around to face Jeno instead. Jaemin’s hands are steady on his hips, even as Renjun leans forward to brush his nose against Jeno’s. “It’s because you got too busy making sure Yukhei kisses your fist instead—”

Jeno cuts him off with a kiss, grabbing him by the back of his neck to pull him close and press their lips together. Renjun doesn’t even whine, eyes fluttering shut when their lips connect and his hands fall limp on Jeno’s waist. 

Jeno kisses him slow and steady, just like with everything he does. He’s firm and solid where Jaemin’s more receiving, and when Jeno coaxes his mouth open with a slide of this tongue, Renjun is helpless but to let him in.

Jaemin untucks his shirt from his pants, calloused hands travelling up the expanse of Renjun’s skin, and when Jaemin’s nails drag across the sensitive spot on his waist, he groans into Jeno’s open mouth.

_ Seven minutes _ . Renjun reminds himself—they only have seven minutes before this is over but he has lost track of time since entering this closet and all he can think of is the feeling of Jeno’s tongue on his, and Jaemin’s lips creating hickeys on his neck.

When Jeno pulls away from him to breathe, there’s spit connecting their mouths but Jaemin is quick to tug Renjun towards him to kiss him again. Jaemin’s hand that remain underneath his shirt presses flat against his stomach, and he feels Jeno move around him to grab Jaemin by the ass, evident by the little moan Jaemin lets out, which Renjun swallows.

They make out for as long as they can, with exchanged spit and ragged breaths. At one point, Renjun pulls away from the both of them to let them kiss each other, as he works the buttons of their shirts off and trail kisses down their sternums. The thought of the door opening any moment now has Renjun thrumming with excitement, his blood pumping in his ears and travelling in the direction opposite his head. 

It’s all overwhelming.

His skin is buzzing with nerves, the lips, the hands, the friction all over him is almost enough to make him lose control, almost enough for him to drop on his knees and—

“Time’s up!” 

The door flings open, revealing them in different states of disarray as Donghyuck stands in the opened door with his jaw dropping to the floor. There are other people peeking into the closet, but Renjun can only make out Mark’s shocked face from the myriad of expressions. 

They’re in a very compromising situation, Jaemin’s leaning back against the closet wall, the first few buttons of his shirt undone so Renjun can leave hickeys on them. Jeno’s tugging Renjun close to him, his head pressed to his bare chest as Renjun erupts in giggles in Jeno’s hold, the fact that they’ve been revealed so explicitly only catching up to him now. He almost predicts what Mark says next.

“The three of you have _ a lot _ of talking to do.” 

The coffee shop is quiet, a stark contrast to its ambience whenever they spend their afternoons here to do work or chat. There’s a barista working the counter, a table occupied by another student while the three of them gather at the table next to the floor-to-ceiling window. 

They’ve escaped the party and the judging gazes, Donghyuck’s been held back by Mark because he insisted on coming along with them but Mark argues that it’s best if the three of them get to talk. And although Renjun is terrified of confronting Jeno and Jaemin and his own  _ self _ , he knows he has to talk.

They’ve sobered up now, Jaemin with his Americano from hell, Jeno with a hot latte and Renjun with a cold caffè mocha. There are fresh hickeys blooming on their necks, none of them embarrassed enough to hide it so they bloom proudly upon their skin, the lightning in the cafè making them stand out even more.

“So,” Renjun begins as he puts down his cold drink. Jeno and Jaemin are sitting across him, Renjun alone at the other side of the table. “How do you guys want to talk about this?”

Jaemin beats Jeno to speaking. “We want to apologize… to you, for what we did last week.”

Renjun nibbles on his bottom lip, remembering last week and the emotional stress it brought upon him. “You have to make me understand why you did that,” he turns to Jeno, who’s avoiding his gaze, “especially you Jeno, I didn’t know you can hurt anyone.”

The slight joking tone in his voice makes Jeno look up from his lap, a small smile hinted at the side of his lips. Renjun returns it. 

“Me neither.” Jeno confesses. “I guess… I just get like that because of you.”

“It was my idea.” Jaemin interjects. “But we agreed Jeno had more power, so he did it. And he said I kissed better.”

Renjun wills the redness of his ears away, trying to hold back his laughter. 

This is supposed to be a serious conversation, yet they can’t seem to  _ not _ be humorous even at the most pressing times. This is what Renjun likes about them—they make everything so easy, and Renjun almost regrets cooping up away from them, but then again, he knows he needed that time for his own mental state.

Jeno pouts. “He does kiss better than me.”

“Don’t say that,” Renjun says firmly, “you’re both good kissers—can we move on?”

There’s a satisfied smile on both of their faces, Renjun tries to keep a straight face, his cold drink held in a hand. 

Jaemin nudges Jeno this time, so Jeno speaks up at the prompt. “The thing is… Jaemin and I… we… the two of us, we like you—right, I  _ know _ it sounds ridiculous to you right now but come on, will you please listen?”

Renjun sighs out, drags his hand through his face as he tries to calm his hammering heart. “I’m listening.”

Jaemin continues this time. “We know we promised you that there would be no feelings when we started our set-up.” Renjun nods at that. “But whenever Jeno and I are together, just the two of us… we couldn’t stop thinking about how much better it would be if you were there with us.”

Renjun’s brain is going on multiple thoughts per minute. He tries to silence them, tries to sort them out so he can speak properly to them. Renjun looks up at them finally, throat dry. “Are you sure? This isn’t just because you guys like threesomes and I’m convenient?”

“Renjun!” They say at the same time, and Renjun relaxes as he laughs. 

“We told you,” Jeno insists, “we like you for who you are—and if you don’t want anything to do with us after knowing this, we fully understand—we broke our part of the deal and it’s not fair to you if we kept it up while having feelings for you.”

In the duration of time that Renjun has known them, Jeno and Jaemin have always been nothing but genuine. They became close friends quickly after being introduced to each other because of how much they clicked. It’s only now that Renjun realizes the amount of times that they’ve asked him to tag along on their  _ dates _ .

But what makes Renjun so afraid of this, whatever this is, is the fact that he doesn’t want to lose either of them—and with this, it’s so possible to lose two of the most precious people to him right now and Renjun doesn’t want that to happen.

Jaemin sighs audibly, and Jeno stirs his latte to distract himself. There’s a small voice at the back of Renjun’s head that says,  _ what if it works out? _

“First of all,” Renjun speaks, and Jeno and Jaemin are at the edge of their seats, “Yukhei is my  _ friend _ . He’s very close to me because we’re both at the International Students Association so… if you can, I hope you can apologize to him…”

Jaemin looks at Jeno, his shoulders deflating and the furrow of Jeno’s brows relaxes at the eye contact. “Fine,” Jaemin says, “we’ll apologize to him when it’s convenient for him.”

Renjun folds his hands over the table, gaining more confidence when Jeno and Jaemin are amicable to his demands. Then again, there’s this tiny little conceited part of him that tells him that they’ll agree to whatever he says, just because of how much they like him.

(Renjun doesn’t want to admit that maybe, he likes them just as much too.)

(Perhaps even more.)

“Good,” he exhales, “I made clear with the two of you that our set-up shouldn’t ruin our friendship… didn’t I?”

“You did.” Jeno says.

Renjun has never felt nervous with the both of them around, or with just one of them around. Even if they’re together as friends or something more than that, Renjun has always felt safe and  _ sure _ with them. The thing that makes this so different is that Renjun is confronting his own fear of commitment and ruining something great that he already has.

And when he looks at them,  _ really _ looks at them, with their kind eyes and unwavering patience, Renjun feels that nervousness wash away.

“So can you give me time?” He asks, and there’s a sense of relief that comes over him, but it’s nothing in comparison to the relief that comes over the couple across him.

It’s Jeno that laughs first, a smile blossoming on stoic features—Jaemin gets infected naturally. “Time!” Jeno exclaims, “time, of course—any time, how much time—you have all the time.”

Renjun laughs into folded hands, his gaze flitting from Jaemin to Jeno. “You look surprised,” he says to them both, “did you really think I was going to reject the both of you?”

“Yes,” Jaemin breathes out, combing his hands through his hair and tugging at the strands to release his stress. There’s that bright smile on his face Renjun has always teased him for. “But time—of course, you can decide whenever you want.”

“I just… want to think of this first… like how you’ve thought of it, and I don’t want to do anything that can ruin our friendship—the both of you are very precious to me.” Renjun doesn’t even know how he finds the eloquence to speak. “So… time?”

“Yeah,” Jeno nods, and Jaemin continues his sentence like they’ve practiced this, “you have all the time in the world.”

They do give him time.

They have apologized to Yukhei over some coffee and pastries, and Renjun is worried that they may have become best friends now. Yukhei has invited them to a soccer game during the weekend, and he isn’t so sure how he feels about his two different friend groups coming together. 

His friend group falls back to its natural rhythm, they hang out again except now they’re more disgusted of Mark and Donghyuck, whose blossoming relationship is up on everyone’s faces. Donghyuck never fails to remind them that they made out in a shoe closet to sort out their relationship. Renjun pretends to beat him up. One of these days, he might actually do it.

It’s refreshing to have all five of them together in one place again, sometimes it’s at the mall, sometimes it’s at Donghyuck’s place, sometimes it’s at the library. But it’s always fun anywhere it may be as long as they have each other.

As for the three of them, they go back to normal, as normal as it can get. 

Normal is Renjun resting his head on Jeno’s lap, his fingers massaging his scalp as Jaemin orders pizza on the other side of the couch. It’s him helping Jaemin cook dinner as Jeno tries his best to help with chopping the vegetables. It’s Jeno and Jaemin holding hands as they walk down the street with Renjun walking ahead of them because he dislikes how they walk so slowly. 

It’s Jeno and Jaemin cuddling on the couch while they watch Renjun’s favorite movie, Renjun’s situated on the floor, the bowl of popcorn close to his chest.

This is normal, Renjun thinks. And these days, normal is also Renjun walking in on them making out just before they go out for brunch, it’s them pulling away from each other to invite him into waiting arms. It’s Renjun kissing Jeno goodbye when they have to go to class. It’s kissing Jaemin hello when he arrives to the cinema five minutes late for their movie. It’s staying more often at their apartment than in his own.

Normal is feeling that he belongs, that he completes the puzzle piece rather than being an add-on. 

They have given him more than time, they have given him patience, understanding, space, and more importantly, they have given him love. It has taken a while before courage bloomed in the pits of Renjun’s heart, it has taken a while before he can admit to himself that he doesn’t mind having feelings for them—that maybe this is okay, that maybe it can work out. 

Maybe they can work it out.

Renjun pushes himself up from the floor to splay himself down on their laps, stretching his whole body out like a cat. 

“What are you doing?” Jeno asks, sliding his hand up the gap on Renjun’s shirt where it has ridden up from his movement. He squirms a little, laughing as Jaemin adjusts so his head isn’t falling uncomfortably on the couch. 

Renjun calms down from his laughter, swatting Jeno’s hand away as he speaks. “I’m dating the both of you.”

Jeno and Jaemin look at each other for a second, before they turn to Renjun with equally delighted smiles. “What was that?” Jaemin asks, carding his fingers through Renjun’s hair as Jeno mindlessly strokes his hip.

Renjun almost burns from their gazes, but he sucks it up and emphasizes his point. “That’s what I’m doing, I’m dating the both of you. We are dating each other.”

“We are dating each other.” Jaemin echoes as he holds his hand, Renjun plays with his fingers. “All three of us, together.”

Jeno pipes up, “good, I’ve been wondering all this time what the hell are we doing.” 

The movie and the bowl of popcorn on the floor the Renjun left are shortly forgotten, exchanged for making out on the couch to celebrate their new relationship.

Maybe none of them needed the confirmation that they’re all dating, but making it official with Jeno and Jaemin makes everything less scary to Renjun, much to his own shock. He’s thought about this over and over, has thought about it countless times and has talked to Donghyuck about it for countless hours—it all comes down to one conclusion.

He loves Jeno and Jaemin.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think!! I'm really not that confident about this fic because I'm not too experienced writing poly ships and kissing scenes which this fic was all about... so please do tell me what you think ahhhh 
> 
> cc: [xuxikr](https://curiouscat.me/xuxikr)  
twt: [@renduckie](https://twitter.com/renduckie)


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